WASHINGTON, D.C.–Last week, Senator Rick Scott and Senator Dan Sullivan, members of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), along with five of their Republican colleagues, sent a letter to President Biden urging the administration not to renew oil sanctions relief for Venezuela. The administration must decide whether to reauthorize the sanctions relief by Thursday when the previous authorization expires. The letter was first reported on in a story by Fox News Digital’s Thomas Catenacci. Co-signers include Senators Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.), Jim Risch (R-Idaho) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.).

The full letter can be read here. Read excerpts from the Fox News article below.

Biden under fire for shutting down US oil production, urged to impose sanctions on Venezuela

'Joe Biden needs to wake the hell up and stop appeasing dictators and the eco-colonialists – fast,' says Sen Dan Sullivan

By Thomas Catenacci, Fox News

April 16, 2024

A group of top Senate Republican leaders is urging President Biden to block oil sanctions relief for the Venezuelan government, an authoritarian regime which continues to oppress its opponents.

The seven lawmakers, led by Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, sent a letter to the president Friday, calling on him to cancel the so-called General License 44, which is set to come up for renewal later this week. They argued that Venezuela's government has failed to meet key requirements related to ensuring fair elections that it agreed to when the Biden administration issued the six-month license last year.

"History has proven time and time again that appeasing dictators does not work. We strongly urge you to reinstate and fully enforce all U.S. sanctions on the [Nicolás] Maduro regime," they wrote. "We must not cede American leverage by lifting U.S. sanctions while the Maduro government deliberately disregards its obligations."

"If the U.S. fails to take a credible stance on ensuring free and fair elections are held in Venezuela, the prospects of a democratic Venezuela will continue to diminish, which will further embolden authoritarian aggressors such as the People’s Republic of China, Iran, and Russia," the lawmakers continued.

In October, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro signed an agreement with the nation's opposition leaders, agreeing to freer elections as part of a deal in which the U.S. Treasury Department eased sanctions on the South American country's key oil sector.

However, the Maduro regime almost immediately began taking actions in apparent violation of the deal, cracking down on the opposition and imprisoning political opponents ahead of Venezuela's upcoming presidential election slated for July 2024. The State Department said in October it would not renew the General License 44 absent progress by the Venezuelan government.

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In a statement on Tuesday to Fox News Digital, Sullivan, who serves as the ranking member on the Senate Armed Services Readiness and Management Support Subcommittee, expressed deep concern with Biden – both potentially for maintaining sanctions relief for Venezuela and recent actions his administration has taken to curb domestic production.

"Joe Biden needs to wake the hell up and stop appeasing dictators and the eco-colonialists – fast," he said. "The world is on fire and Biden is still focused on appeasing his most far-left radical supporters at the expense of America’s national security."

Sullivan noted that the Department of the Interior is expected to soon finalize regulations blocking off 13 million acres of land across the National Petroleum Reserve, an area in North Slope Borough, Alaska, set aside by Congress for resource development. Bloomberg reported last week the agency is expected to finalize those rules this week.

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[Click here to read the full story on FoxNews.com]

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